Worms
by kawaiidragonfoe821
Summary: Something is swallowing up livestock, people & even entire houses in the desserts of New Mexico can Mulder & Scully solve the mystery before it’s too late? As always, please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

'Worms' The X-Files

Chapter 1

_Summery: Something is swallowing up livestock, people & evenentire houses in the desserts of New Mexico; can Mulder & Scully solve the mystery before it's too late?_

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

"Please don't tell me that this trip is stemmed from yet another oneof your internet chats." Scully said as she watched the city of Albuquerque New Mexico sift through the clouds as their plane descended. "Actually, no. the local PD called us out on this one. Apparently livestock, people & even entire houses have been disappearing into sinkholes in the past few weeks." Mulder replied without looking at her. "Well, if I remember right from my college days, sinkholes in dessert environments aren't all that… uncommon." Scully replied, pausing momentarily as she stepped out of the plane into the stifling dessert heat behind Mulder. A man was waiting to great them, he was tall & burly & looked like he was about to leave middle age behind at any moment. "My name is Lieutenant Tim Roberts, I'm so glad you two could make it, we're at out wits end here & I've heard that you specialize in these types of cases." He said as he eagerly shook both of their hands. "Well, get in & I'll take you to the site." He said as he gestured to a beat up jeep.

"It's hard to believe this used to be someone's land." Lieutenant Roberts said as they stood at the edge of thevast sinkhole. "We do getsinkholes out here, this being the dessert & all but nothing like this, I'm afraid I wasn't entirely truthful with you over the phone, Agent Mulder. We've been having these damned things here off & on for ten years, the mayor as at his wits end & with people packing up & leaving, there will be nothing left but to sell the land." He added as the three of them turned around upon hearing an approaching engine. It was a small racing-type motorcycle, it came to a dusty halt beside them & the rider dismounted. "Agents, meet Dr. Angus Wauls, he's our resident geoscientist." Lieutenant Roberts said as the rider pulled off his helmet. "It's nice to meet you… both of you." He said, pausing as he shook Scully's hand. "Likewise." She replied, she had to admit that she was somewhat taken with him. He was tall, a little over six feet with semi-short spiked dark brown hair that was sun kissed at the tips, probably as a result of countless hours working out in the harsh, dessert sun. His skin was tanned, leathery & weathered but not to the point of unattractiveness, his frame was long & lean without an ounce of idle fat anywhere; but perhaps the most stunning thing about him was his eyes, they were green, fairly unusual for his skin coloring. "So, one day this thing appears out of no where & swallows ten acres of property?" Scully said to Dr. Wauls, who chuckled deeply at her sarcasm. "Pretty much, neighbors say it felt like a mini earthquake, they came outside & this is what they saw." He said as he gestured to the mighty hole. "I think we should go & have a chat with the neighbors." Mulder interjected quickly, he was trying to keep his rising jealousy at bay. "Why don't you interview the neighbors, I think I'll stay here with Dr. Wauls & investigate this hole further." Scully said, Mulder gave her a look of hurt & shock, butdid not argue.

"We didn't see anything, we just heard a sound like a collapsing building & by the time we got out the front door, Mrs. Sanders' entire property was gone… just like that." Mr. Helens said to Mulder as he jotted theinformation down. "I just hope whatever made that hole doesn't make us its next targets." Mr. Helens added nervously. "Well, we're going to ask that you evacuate your home, just in case, I'll have the local PD send someone to pick you up this afternoon." Mulder said, the Helens' looked downcast but they nodded in agreement.

"So, the FBI, huh? What do you do there?" Dr. Wauls asked Scully as she watched him skillfully make his way down a short ways into the seemingly bottomlesshole. "I'm a medical doctor with a background in hard science, I taught at Quantico for a few years before recruiting with the FBI as an agent." Dr. Wauls looked amusingly at her fromover his sunglassesas he gathered dirt samples. "How'd you come by the X-Files?" He asked, Scully looked surprised. "How do you know of the X-Files?" She asked, he chuckled. "Everyone in the scientific community knows of the X-Files… their famous, along with your partner, he's a household name around our kind." He said as he made to make his way back up when his foot hold hit something slippery & he had to make a quick grab of some protruding sandstone to prevent from falling into the gaping hole. "What the…?" He said as he took out a vile & collected a sample of the slimy substance that had almost sealed his fate. "What'd you have there?" Scully asked as he surfaced. "Don't know, but I do have access to a lab." He replied as he handed her his helmet & mounted his motorcycle, Scully hesitated, unsure if she should trust him with her life & safety. "Don't worry, I taught a night a class in motorcycle safety so I could pay my way through college." He said, giving her a wide grin, Scully reluctantly slid on behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

'Worms' The X- Files

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

Mulder fumbled for his ringing phone as he made the dusty drive back to their hotel. "Scully! I've been waiting to hear from you." He said as he heard her utter hersignature 'Mulder, It's me'. "Actually I'm at the lab with Dr. Wauls; we found something that you're going to want to take a look at."

Mulder entered the lab & was thoroughly surprised when he was met by a flat-haired & very dusty Scully, he couldn't hide a wide, boyish grin as he looked her over. "Geeze, what'd you do Scully, _walk_ the whole way here in a sand storm?" He chortled; she gave him a sarcastic 'very funny' expression. "No, Dr. Wauls was nice enough to give me a lift on his motorcycle." Scully said matter-of-factly, Mulder said nothing as the grin faded from his face & was replaced with a one of melancholy. "You said you had something?" He asked, she nodded as she waved him over to the microscope. "He looked through it & drew back in shock. "What in the hell is this?" "I don't know, but it's all over the interior of that sinkhole. "It's almost something you'd see around the interior of an earthworm hole, but I'm not going to put money on it, animals were never my regimen. That's why I'm going to send a sample of this to a friend of mine, he's a biologist." Dr. Wauls said.

"Well, that's that. I guess we have no choice but to wait until we hear back from Dr. Wauls' friend." Scully said as she & Mulder drove back to their hotel that was located on the edge of the small dessert town. Mulder had just made the turn onto the street of their hotel when the ground began to tremor beneath them & their car suddenly pitched back & forth like an angry bull. Mulder ground the brakes with both feet & they came screeching to a halt, they watched in shock as their hotel was swallowed up by another massive hole. "Well… I guess we're going to have to find somewhere else to stay the night." He said.


	3. Chapter 3

'Worms' The X-Files

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

Scully looked at the shamble of a motel that stared laughably back at her; its' road sign hanging perilously from one hinge, the water in thepool was as green as an Everglade swamp & the actual structure of the building looked as though it hadn't seen a paint brush or a work order since the Kennedy's were in office. "Well, it ain't the Ritz, but at least we don't have to sleep in the car." Mulder said as he held the door open to their room; as inferior as the motel was, somehow there was only one room available _'figures'_ Scully thought to herself as she stepped through.

The room itself was just as dilapidated as the exterior boasted; the sheets were dingy & stained with god knows what & the wallpaper was peeling,same withthe linoleum floor in the bathroom. "I saw a charming trailer park on the way over here; perhaps we can persuade AD Kersh to let us rent a motor home next time you want to go chasing x-files out in the middle of the dessert." Scully said irritably as she tossed her suitcase down on the floor beside a homely beside table with a shade-less lamp perched crudely on top of it. Mulder smiled at her outburst as he plopped down onto the bed, Scully made a distasteful face at the cloud of dust that issued into the air. "I hope they get the Knicks game." Mulder said to himself as Scully reluctantly eased herself down on the edge of the dingy bed. "We need to figure out the pattern to these holes before they swallow up this whole town." Scully said as Mulder vacated his position to fiddle with the rabbit's ears on top of the television, he playfully pointed them towards her & was mildly surprised when the game came in clear as day. "Wow, Scully, there must be something magic about _you_." He said playfully as he tentatively let go of the rabbit's ears & sat on the edge of the bed, Scully made to join him. "No!" He said, leaping up to still her, he gently moved her back into her original spot & the game came back in. "Mulder, I'm not going to stand here for four hours so you can watch this game!" She said indignantly as she turned to walk away. "Scully!" Mulder whined painfully as the picture went out again, Scully walked back up to the television set, her annoyed gaze never wavering from his playful one. She studiedthe TV setfor a few moments, shebrought her fist over a place right between the rabbit's ears & gave the set a hearty clunk, Mulder was both surprised & amused as the picture sputtered for a few seconds before coming in clearly once more. Scully gave a final smirk to him as she walked to the bathroom, pausing to grab her bag of bathroom essentials on the way. "Hey, can you hit a juke box & make it play, too?" Mulder called after, the only response he recivedwas the sound of the bathroom door squeaking shut.

Mulder was roused from his place on the floor by the shrill wailing of the phone, he reached for it, but Scully got there first. "Hullo?" She slurred into the receiver. "What! We'll be right there. Local authorities say they've got one of the creatures that's been making the holes." She said.

"What in the hell...!" Scully trailed off as she stepped back from what looked to be a gigantic worm with row after circularrow of metallic-looking needle-sharp teeth. "That's what I said when my deputy came a-runnin' telling me that he'd just shot one." The sheriff said as they all stood around it, scratching their heads. "Well….. Let's get itout & to a place where I can autopsy it." Scully said slowly, still not entirely willing tobelieve her owneyes.

"What did you find?" Mulder asked a few hours later as he met her coming out of a grain storage warehouse, the only thing that would house the fifty-foot long creature in the small town. "This animal is nothing more then a… a robot. The bullets from the deputy's gun into it damaged the circuitry." Mulder rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"We're going to startasking you forfrequent flyer miles if you keep calling us out like this." Frohike said as he, Bayers & Langley entered the warehouse dusting them selves off. "You know these plane tickets come out of our own pockets & we don't get reimbursed by the…." Frohike suddenly, stopped so short that Bayers & Langly bumped into him. "Holy sh…!" Bayers trailed off in utter shock.


	4. Chapter 4

'Worms' (The X-Files)

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

"Mulder, this thing is a masterpiece!" Frohike said as he gently prodded through the mechanical bowls of the creature. "But can you tell us who made it?" Scully asked. "Can't be too many folk around here that have this kind of knowledge." He replied.

"Have you had anyone purchase any unusual parts in the last ten years or so?" Mulder asked what seemed like the millionth time that day, they had called on every dump & scrap heap owner in this & surrounding cities, this was the last one in the area; the old man searched his dusty old memory for a moment before answering. "Yeah, there's this boy that comes in for sheeted lead, broken headlights, LED light bulbs, he's a strange one, but at least he helps me get rid of all the crap that no one else'll buy." He said with a smile. "Do you have an address?" Scully asked

"Can I help you?" a small frail man said as he studied Mulder & Scully on his front stoop. "Mr. Munchfield; were with the FBI & we need to speak with you about numerous unexplained sinkholes that have been occurring here for the past ten years." Munchfield's mousy features curled into an unsettling smile as he wordlessly invited them in, as they walked through his living room, Mulder caught sight of articles about the sinkholes from around the United States, they had beenprinted off the computer & pinned up all over the facing wall. "I suppose that you will want to see my lab, just like the other scientists in the area." He said expressionlessly as he led them down a dark & moldy staircase & turned on the light.

A vast underground room about the size of a warehouse flickered dimly into view, there were several 'worms' in progress on two long tables that stretched almost the length of the vastunderground room. "You see, while I was building this underground lab, I made an exciting discovery, this town is built over a vast gold & silver deposit. As you already know, I' am very talented in building digging machines & the more I dug, the more I found. The demise of my neighbor's farm ten years ago was purely an accident I stress, but it gave me an idea. I decided to start making sinkholes on purpose to scare the townspeople off & force the mayor to sell the property at a dirt-cheep price... to me; he would never know what he was sitting on. But you had to poke your meddling noses into my business; I knew when you showed up that you'd be trouble, so I destroyed your hotel in an attempt to kill you, not knowing that you were going to be out that day. But no matter, I'll just finish you here & now." He said, grinning coldly as he took out a remote control & flicked the joystick upward, Mulder barely had time to grab Scully by the waist & dive out of the way as one of the mechanical worms burst through the dirt floor of the lab. Mulder & Scully rolled out of the way as the worm struck at them like a snake, Mulder could feel the breeze from its jaws snapping shut, missing them by inches; Munchfield was laughing gleefully. "You will eventually become tired, while my robot will not." He said as the mechanical worm recoiled, showing four circular rows of titanium teeth that gleamed terribly in the beam of the lights above asthey swung around wildly.

Mulder & Scully drew their weapons as the robot came at them again & fired all of their clips, but the only effect they had was to tear the monster's rubber-like skin off, revealing a body made of lead & titanium. "How stupid do you think I' am, agent Mulder? I learned my lesson from last time." He said gleefully, Mulder's gritted his teeth as his hand closed on the gunmen'sjamming device inside his pocketas Frohike's words filtered into his head. _"Now, the only way this will work is if it comes in contact with the robot's inner circuitry, that means it has to get inside somehow."_ "Of _course_ it does." Mulder said sarcastically to himself as he began running straight at the monster. "Mulder, what are you doing!" Scully yelled as she looked on in shock & horror, the robot lunged for him, its mouth gaping, its titanium teeth rotating like a massive blender.Mulderbarely managed to dodge in time, the fall he had taken at the beginning of the fight had sprained his ankle, ignoring the pain, he leapt on top of the monster & held on for dear life with his legs just behind the head as it threshed around like an angry bull, trying to throw him off. Mulder struggled to keep his grip on the sleek metal body he saw hiswindow of opportunity & tossed the jamming device into the monsters' mouth, Mulder felt a great shudder & the robot began sparking & flailing around un controlably. Mulder had no choice but to let go or risk being crushed against the lab'sgranite walls, he hit the ground with a rude thud & slid almost ten feet. Scully ran to him to assess his injuries as the robot gave one final death shudder & toppled over ontoits creator, who didn't have time to get out of the way.

Scully entered Mulder's hospital room in Albuquerque & was pleasantly surprised to find him awake for the first time in two weeks. He smiled at her as she walked to the side of his bed & sat down on the edge. If I had a dollar for every time I've visited you in a hospital I'd be one rich G-woman." She said as Mulder chuckled hoarsely. "A rich FBI agent, now that _would_ be an oxymoron, wouldn't it? Especially if you work on the X-files." He said as he smiled weakly at her, she sighed exasperatedly as she gave him one of her many 'what am I going to do with you' looks. "Mulder what you did back there was incredibly stupid & not to mention suicidal, I just want you to know that." She said as she gently brushed a few stands of hair back from his forehead. "Hey, the only way it would work was if it came in contact with the robot's inner circuitry, how else was I going to get it in there? All that matters is that the townspeople can safely return to their homes." "The mayor actually fainted when he learned what he was sitting on. Munchfield had made him an offer on the town's land & he was about to sell." Mulder smiled at her as he put his hand on hers. "What do you say to grabbing some Mexican food when I get out of here? I'm already sick of eating jello & broth." Scully smiled warmly at him. "Okay." She said, Mulder looked surprised that she follow her usual routine of turning him down. "Did you think I was going to say no to a free dinner?" She said as she made to leave, but Mulder kept a hold of her hand. "You're not going already, are you? I've been awake since this morning & all I've had to keep me company is the TV & a sixty year old nurse who doesn't speak a lick of English." He said, Scully gave him a look as she pulled up a chair & sat down. just then, DrWauls sauntered in. "Well, its nice to see you're awake, Agent Mulder." He said. "Where have you been?" Scully asked, surprised. "I gave you all the information you needed, once you had thatI knew that all I had to do was stay out of ya'lls way & you'd do the rest. You two make a great team, I didn't want to get in the way of that." He said as he bid them a-do.

"So, what'llthe topic of our conversationbe? Government conspiracies, alien take-over plots, or the existence of various mythical creatures?" Scully said dryly after Dr. Wauls left, Mulder smiled at her as he leaned close to her ear. "The conversation can be about anything as long as it's with _you_."


End file.
